Plant Manager Dave Tatman drives the last Chevrolet Corvette C6 off the line Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013, at the General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant in Bowling Green, Ky. / Joe Imel for General Motors

by Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

by Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY

Normally, the last car coming off the assembly line is sad moment, especially when it is a storied model like the Chevrolet Corvette.

But this one was cause for celebration, because the last sixth-generation Corvette that came down the line at 8:04 a.m., Thursday will give way to a seventh generation. And to anyone who appreciates 'Vettes, they already know the 2014 due next summer or fall is something special.

Workers at General Motors' Bowling Green, Ky., factory barely had time to get a last look at the sixth generation. A half hour later, remodeling was already underway for the new model.

Yet the moment was certainly worth noting: more than 215,000 sixth-generation Corvettes have rolled down the assembly line since 2005. And the last one, in Arctic White, was a "Convertible Collector Edition" with the 60th anniversary design package, GM says.